What is the difference between prefix and postfix operators in C++?

In the prefix version (i.e., ++i), the value of i is incremented, and the value of the expression is the new value of i. So basically it first increments then assigns a value to the expression.

In the postfix version (i.e., i++), the value of i is incremented, however, the {value|the worth} of the expression is that the original value of i. So basically it first assigns a value to expression and then increments the variable.

Let's look at some code to get a better understanding −

Example

#include<iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
   int x = 3, y, z;
   y = x++;
   z = ++x;
   cout << x << ", " << y << ", " << z;
   return 0;
}

Output

This would give us the output −

5, 3, 5

Why is this? Let's look at it in detail −

Initialize x to 3
Assign y the value we get by evaluating the expression x++, ie, the value of x before increment then increment x.
Increment x then assign z the value we get by evaluating the expression ++x, ie, value of x after the increment.
Print these values

Smita Kapse

Updated on 11-Feb-2020 07:44:03

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